The Flambeau Mine (a Kennecott/Rio Tinto project) operated on the banks of the Flambeau River near Ladysmith, Wisconsin in the mid-1990s. This photo was taken in 1994 when the river flooded during heavy rains and came within 20 horizontal feet and 4 vertical feet of spilling into the mine pit.(Photo by Bob Olsgard of Sarona, WI, September 17, 1994)

Despite the news that the DNR will no longer have regulatory power under the new mining bill, Rep. Mary Williams (R-Medford) implores people to “hope for the best.”

“I’ve been told, you can trust in the DNR. I’ve been told for ten years that you have to trust in those people. Well, I do trust them.”

In a press conference this morning at the Capitol, Williams bragged about Flambeau Mine, in her district. Williams said, “My husband and I have spent a lot of time down there. Now it’s been taken care of, I think it’s a nice place for the community and they’ve done a good job.”

Williams also omitted the fact that according to data received from Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development in 2002, Rusk County had the highest unemployment rate in the State during the years the mine operated (1993-1997). In fact, read the actual news reports through the years that revealed a rising unemployment rate while they were operating.

Williams cited the Internet as the main cause of any misinformation concerning the details of the new mining bill.

“One of the big problems I see in this world is the Internet. I think the Internet is great for some things, but you folks [referring to the profession press] are right there for us. If we see you’ve put something in your news that we don’t agree with, we can always call you up and say, gee, where’d you get that information, and it can be corrected. But the Internet is so full of, how do I say it nicely, baloney. There’s a lot of false statements made on the Internet because people can’t readily change that.”

Then, why don’t you take the time to listen to both sides in person at hearings? It is the only way we (the unwashed masses) can communicate. I have 25+ years in mining worldwide, and can’t get so much as an acknowledgement. Is that an open process? What first hand knowledge do YOU have?